Oscar Meyer Vindaloo
The healing powers of curry? Turmeric as a remedy
---Originally published in the print edition of The Boise Weekly, April 15, 2006---

Dear Dr. Rabin:
A know-it-all vegetarian friend of mine eats tons of Indian food. She says of all the ethnic foods on the planet, Indian is the healthiest. When I press her for details, she says it's all the curry powder they use. I did a little digging and found that the curry spice turmeric is, in fact, really healthy. I actually do like Indian food, but I like aggravating her even more. So my question: Since yellow mustard is also made with lots of turmeric, can I have your permission to make her insane by feeding her daughter a hot dog and calling it a health food?
--Renee

If your heart is set on ticking off someone, I suppose a vegetarian is your safest bet. I can't imagine you're very likely to get ding dong ditch'd and find a flaming macramé bag of dog poo on your doorstep. But when you start getting The PETA Action Bulletin and Mother Earth Newswithout ordering them, you'll have a fairly good idea who is spending her evenings filling out multiple subscription cards.

Your friend may very well be annoying, but her evaluation of Indian food is reasonably accurate. Countless traditional dishes contain no meat and an untold number include turmeric, the bright yellow spice responsible for French's mustard being visible from space. Turmeric is a root related to ginger and a staple in cooking across South Asia--though it's first use was probably as a preservative. Due to potent antioxidants rivaling vitamins C and E, this spice was essential for keeping food fresh in those hot climates. Additionally, Indian therapeutic medicine has long depended on turmeric root as a remedy for stomach complaints and, when mixed into a paste, a treatment for the parasitic skin infection scabies.

Recent medical interest in this spice was prompted by findings that in nations where consumption of turmeric-rich foods is traditionally high, the rates of Alzheimer's disease, colorectal cancers and other diseases are among the lowest. The bioactive components of turmeric, named curcuminoids (apparently unconnected to Star Wars Episode VII: Scabies vs. the Curcuminoids), are now well established as a powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.

Hundreds of papers on curcumin (the most active of these compounds) have been published over the past five years with encouraging news regarding some very distressing diseases. For example, Alzheimer's researchers have discovered that curcumin may block or slow the accumulation of protein deposits called plaques in the brains of their patients. Another, a remarkable breast cancer study on metastasis, showed that curcumin helped the cancer drugTaxol stop cells from taking up residence in the lung.

It doesn't stop there. There are hopeful findings in multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, arthritis, cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. A common link among many of these conditions is inflammation, the protective and/or destructive tissue reaction to irritation, injury or infection. It's thought that curcumin somehow blocks the progression of inflammation and slows or circumvents the reactions. Keep these facts handy and you'll easily justify that mustard-slathered hot pretzel at the next state fair.

Just about anyone with an inflammatory condition can't go wrong eating more turmeric-containing foods (unless each meal includes a hot dog). While keeping in mind this spice has been eaten in huge amounts for centuries, there are still a few cautions. In one study at least, curcumin stimulated contractions of the gall bladder; consequently, those prone to gall stones should avoid the concentrated over-the-counter turmeric extracts. Pregnant or lactating women should, of course, be cautious with all supplements, though eating lots of curry just might give the kid a taste for cricket, Bollywood cinema and an uncommon respect for bovines.

The recommended daily dose of a standardized curcumin supplement is 1200mg, but many believe the whole form of turmeric may work better. While difficult to quantify exact intake, the everyday kitchen spice can easily be made into a tea, or creatively added into foods where a little nuclear fallout yellow won't be noticed.

Armed with this knowledge and some creativity, you could certainly make a nice Indian dinner for your vegetarian friend and bury the hatchet. Seeing as she was right about the curry, you should probably abandon your plan for vege-baiting. Especially since while corrupting her daughter by sharing your love for meat-laden junk food, the little urchin might return the favor by sharing something with an equal affinity for flesh--her itchy case of scabies.

"The Antidote" was a weekly column published from July 2005 to March 2008. Dr. Rabin tackled the hype surrounding alternative medicine, folk treatments, miracle supplements and cures-for-all-ills. His skeptical, evidence-based approach did not earn him many friends among local practitioners and multi-level marketers, but his monthly salary of two movie tickets made it all worth it.

Dr. Ed Rabin, Chiropractor

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Dr. Ed Rabin, Chiropractor  500 W. Idaho St., Suite 240, Boise, ID 83702  (208) 955-7277